Money isn't everything as a sportsman. Sometimes the pride of playing for your home town team might just count more than a slightly improved contract offer.

That`s what I was alluding to Mark. The longer the time period drags on without Andre signing a new contract, for Saints, then the more it appears that he will be leaving them.

I am definitely have no claim to in-side knowledge of the situation, but the nearer a player gets to the expiry date of his existing contract, (When there is a new offer from his club), usually means he will sign for an alternative club.

However. that could be a NRL club.

It will be interesting to see who he pens the new contract with. I have NOT seen him play much, but from what I have seen, I don`t think he is ready for the NRL just yet.

www.saintsrlfc.com/news/page/5089

www.saintsrlfc.com/news/page/5089

Jesus, the Saints fans got themselves in a right tizz over all this and he's ended up staying with them.

Under quoted it saying 24 hours but got there in the end.
Cooper Cronk anyone?

Well we might have got sandow but they've extended Luke Walshs contract...who is a very good player just a shame he's got himself pregnant and scared of tackling. One more beast in the pack and we're looking good for next year.

Last time I looked Sandow wasn't quite the front cover of men's health mag either. Worse still it's still a rumour nothing confirmed by the player, his agent, the eels or Wire

He's got that spherical aboriginal build that's for sure...but he can shift. Not sure Walsh covered ten feet on Friday. Anyway you concentrate on yourselves instead of chuckling at our signings/non signings because after seeing you on Friday you nearly made wigan look good. Give us a shout before the semi and we'll let you know how to beat leeds....or at least get within twenty of em for a change.

They won't beat Leeds and neither will we unless someone kidnaps Burrow and Sinfield for 60mins of each games.

Put to bed.2 year Saints deal.

I'm not saying that 'laughing boy' is the guilty party, but, the Saints thread on the subject is quite embarrassing.

From all the bullet dodging/ mercenary/money grabbing posts to why would he even think of going to a team that hasn't won a championship since '55 blah de blah.

Despite the defeats, I always had less of a dislike for Saints in comparison to Widnes and Wigan, I even had a sneaky regard due to the style of rugby, but, the more you read the stuff on their board, the more I'm tempted to reconsider...what a bunch they are!!

I said this on the Saints site, but I'll say it here too.

You can come out and say it's a professional game and players are just employees. However, sport is not just a business.
Sport sells, loyalty, passion, parochialism, the club above everything else.

So when fans buy into that concept you have to accept that there will be an element of fans following that lead.

Also sport is psychological as well as physical. Are fans are not allowed to put pressure on players/coaches to stay or go? Do wire fans not go to the ground and shout support and boo the opposition?
If we go out and just say well they are employees and therefore all this passion and loyalty is fakery and has no impact, then why bother to go?

Did Saints fans make a big boo ha ha when Wheeler left for wire?
No.
Why?

Because there was a feeling amongst the fans that both the club and the player had show an intangible level of loyalty to each other and the time was right for both parties to move on. Even those who felt he would come back and bite us in the bum, thought that a new start was what he needed.

If you start telling fans to be professional and not buy into this who sporting concept of passion and loyalty, then you may as well ask them to stop them turning up to watch as the result will remain the same whether or not the fans turn up or boo or shout or cheer.

Well that doesn't excuse the fact that half of you were saying he's not very good when it looked like he might be off to him becoming a world beater again overnight....it was laughable.